Themme Fatale

I wanted to make a few commitments for the blog and what I share on here. These may change as I learn more and grow as a maker.

Commitment #1: No New Fast Fashion

When I think about my ideal wardrobe, I want it to be full of clothing that I’ve made that fits me well and allows me to experience gender euphoria. I’ll talk more soon about what kinds of clothing makes me feel good, but my first commitment is to purchase no new fast fashion clothing, which begs the question, “What is fast fashion?”

I would like to stretch my definition of fast fashion beyond the usual culprits – Shein, Temu, H&M, etc. and extend it to pricier clothing that has dubious origins and the materials are untraceable. Similarly, I want to include fabric and fiber that has this same issue of untraceability.

This doesn’t necessarily mean I won’t be buying any new-to-me clothing that might have these issues, but I am committing to only buying those items secondhand. I also love the idea behind Disco Fibers and getting more yarn (when I need it, which I probably won’t for the next 10 years) secondhand.

Commitment #2: No Size-Exclusive Patterns

One of the most frustrating things I have experienced while ogling some of the best sewing and knitting patterns (and even ready-to-wear clothing) is scrolling to the size range and realizing that the pattern does not size up to fit my 50-ish inch chest when accounting for intended ease. I am roughly six feet tall, weigh roughly 265 pounds, and was assigned male at birth. There is no reason for a garment that fits me to be outside a designer’s grade range, even though the Craft Yarn Council of America’s sizing charts only go up to a 52″ chest for men, and only a 62″ chest for women.

Fat people deserve access to crafting patterns that fit their bodies, and for that reason, I am committing to only sharing* patterns and clothing that either grade up to the 62″ chest for women (when accounting for intended ease) or that have at least two additional sizes above mine if the pattern/clothing is intended for men. (As an aside, a certain store that lots of folks fawn over has sewing patterns that only go up to a finished size just under my size with a note that an updated pattern with a greater size range is coming… in Summer 2021. I’ll keep checking back, but my guess is that they added these notes during a Discourse moment about sizing and then never followed up or through – how frustrating!)

*I have not double-checked the patterns I have already accumulated over the years for their sizing, so I may be sharing patterns that do not conform to these standards when I am making them. That said, I will post a disclaimer when

For more about size inclusivity, please check out Susanna Winter’s blog post series.

Commitment #3: No Oppressive Creators or Companies

Back at the start of 2019, the craft community had a long Discourse about racism within the community, which popped back up in the summer of 2020 with the George Floyd Uprisings. I commit to not sharing patterns or products promoted by the creators or companies who ignored, hand-waved, dismissed, or otherwise contributed to further oppression within the crafting community. To that end, this blog is explicitly pro-Black, pro-trans, pro-women, pro-fat, anti-capitalist, anti-police, and anti-oppression. If I inadvertently share from a creator or company that shouldn’t be on this blog, please reach out and I will correct that mistake.